AARYN

Aaryn whirled as he stood. Anger flared in his chest when he saw the King—the former King, he reminded himself—but he instinctively bowed as the massive Leonine, with tension lines crinkling his warm brown eyes, limped closer. Reth's mate, the Queen—Elia, she always growled at Aaryn to use her name—was at his heels, her eyes bright, but her mouth set in a thin line.

"Dad!" Elreth's voice broke and she leapt up, throwing herself into her father's chest. He caught her in his thick arms, though Aaryn saw him grimace when she hit him. "Dad, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking—"

"But… but you're hurt!"

"You think you can dominate without hurting people sometimes?"

"No, but—"

"Swallow those tears, Elreth. You are Queen. The people need you to know your own mind and step with confidence."

"But they didn't even ask for me to be Queen!"

"The Anima never ask for a Ruler, Elreth," her mother said quietly, though her eyes didn't hold the pleasure of her father's. "A Ruler… becomes. You have taken the role. Now use it."

Elreth looked at her mother, then at her father, then stepped out of his arms, and folded her own across her chest. "They don't want me."

"They don't know if they want you. You'll have to show them," her father said, his voice a warning.

"Dad, we've never had a dominant Queen. Ever!"

"And I can't think of anyone better to convince them that it's time for that to change."

She shook her head, but didn't argue. Then she swallowed. "Are you okay?"

Reth huffed. "My old bones don't like getting crunched anymore, but I'll be fine in a day, you know that. Don't worry about me, El. Look at you. Look at what you did!" He beamed at his daughter and something in Aaryn's chest twisted darkly.

He'd always wondered what it would be like to have a father who looked at you like that.

Elreth blinked, and blinked again, then she dropped her hands to her sides and frowned. "What I did?" she asked quietly. Then louder, "What I did? You tricked me!"

Her father's face flattened. "We talked about this—"

"No, Dad, you talked about it! I said no! I said it wasn't the right time. And you hadn't even brought it up for what, a month? Were you just trying to lower my guard?"

"Did it work?" he joked. His mate slapped his arm, but Elreth growled.

"You risked everything! I was late this morning. What if I hadn't shown up? What if I hadn't won? Would you have just kicked all the disformed out anyway?"

"No," he said. "Because I knew you wouldn't let me." And he glanced at Aaryn again, his gaze measuring.

Aaryn quickly glanced at Elreth to see if she'd noticed. But she just glared at her father. "I can't believe you manipulated me like that—it was stupid, and reckless and… and…you forced me!"

Her mother stepped forward, her lips pressed to thin lines. "El, watch your tone. There are no people here. Even if you are Queen, he is still your father and he made the choice he thought was best for you—and for the people."

Elreth's eyes widened. "You were in on this? I can't believe you went along with this!"

Elia's face tightened. "I was… aware of his plan. It was not what I would have chosen."

Which meant she'd actively argued with him, but only in private. Reth put his hand to his mate's ass and grinned. "She had to be talked into not telling you."

Elia slapped his hand away. Aaryn was about to grin until he saw the look that she shot Reth. But the former King just laughed.

Elreth continued to complain, and her mother continued to be careful with her words. But Aaryn stood just outside their little family circle—only missing Elreth's brother—and tried to hide how watching this made his heart ache.

They'd always embraced him, all of them. Even Gar, her brother. But embracing him didn't mean he was one of them. Witnessing this moment, where mantel passed from father to daughter seemed… inappropriate. As if something sacred were happening, and he was stealing it from them.

He looked behind him. He could just leave, they probably wouldn't notice—

"I want to talk to you, Aaryn," Elia, Elreth's mother said quietly from behind him. He almost startled as he turned to face her. He hadn't heard her move.

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